Sunday, December 27, 2015

I love the week the Nerdy awards begin to be announced! With so many fabulous books published for children each year, it is hard for them to all get the accolades they so deserve. That's why this week at the Nerdy Book Club blog is such a celebration - we are celebrating the best and the brightest books in many different categories.

I am delighted to be the person who announced the Nonfiction Picture Book winners today! Check it out if you haven't already, and don't forget to follow the other Nerdy winners the rest of the week!!!!

Saturday, December 5, 2015

I love that Ruth hosts a community of celebration each Saturday. When world events and things close to home make me weary, I so enjoy my escape into the celebrations posted here. Thanks so much Ruth for nurturing a community of "JOY"!

The first thing I would like to celebrate is the return to my blog. For a variety of reasons, I have felt unmotivated as a writer. But thanks to #WriteDaily30, organized by Linda Urban. I am setting a goal to write something for myself or for public consumption each and every day this month. All writers that joined put their goal or their progress in a spreadsheet shared by all, and then we leave comments for one another daily. A powerful motivator to write and a huge celebration!

Second, this week I would like to celebrate my parents and making it through Thanksgiving. This holiday was my parents' absolute favorite - my dad liked to cook the turkey using his engineering skills - depending on the size of the turkey, he had a regression chart to tell you how long you needed to cook the bird - and no I'm not making that up! Mom and Dad loved having us gather at their home, all sitting around one table, enjoying their food, and then following the meal, joining in some cutthroat family games; ones where Mom always stacked the teams so she was guaranteed to win. Last Thanksgiving, they were not physically able to prepare the meal, so we celebrated the holiday at my brother's house. But since then, Mom died last December and Dad died in July. The remaining family knew it would be a tough holiday, but we had a lovely time together, eating incredibly well and yes, still playing those cutthroat games. I think Mom would be so pleased to see how I channeled her competitive nature and beat my nieces and eldest daughter in a game of Spoons. :)

Finally, I have much more to say about this in future posts, but I want to celebrate #ncte15. I know this happened a few weeks ago, but I haven't really talked about it a lot. While I know not all educators are in an ideal situation where they work, I left #ncte15 with my spirit having been lifted up. So many conversations about keeping joy in our profession, so many educators sharing smart philosophies and practices, so many like-minded friends/colleagues coming together to refine our practices and feel the support of others - that is a true celebration!